The fabrication of integrated circuits (IC) in the semiconductor industry typically employs plasma to create and assist surface chemistry within a plasma reactor necessary to remove material from and deposit material to a substrate. In general, plasma is formed within the plasma reactor under vacuum conditions by heating electrons to energies sufficient to sustain ionizing collisions with a supplied process gas. Moreover, the heated electrons can have energy sufficient to sustain dissociative collisions and, therefore, a specific set of gases under predetermined conditions (e.g. chamber pressure, gas flow rate, etc.) are chosen to produce a population of charged species and chemically reactive species suitable to the particular process being performed within the chamber (e.g. etching processes where materials are removed from the substrate or deposition processes where materials are added to the substrate). In general, a vacuum pump provides a reduced pressure atmosphere in a plasma processing chamber. A (pumping) baffle plate comprising a plurality of small passages therethrough is located between the plasma and the pump to confine the plasma while permitting gas to be evacuated. The baffle plate's surface can be exposed to the physically and chemically active plasma, and, in time, can erode. So the baffle plate should be cleaned or replaced periodically.